Top Tips to Buying Jerusalem Real Estate in a Sellers Market

Top Tips to Buying Jerusalem Real Estate

in a Sellers Market!

Here are Ben Levene’s, CapitIL’s Director of Sales, top tips to beat the low supply, high demand in the Jerusalem Real Estate market today.

If you are looking for 100-110 sqm for 5-6 million NIS or 130-200 sqm for 8-12 million NIS, this article will be extremely informative for you.

This article is for realistic buyers who just have not been able to jump into the market.

Be Prepared to Buy 

Be in the right situation to buy.

If you are a cash buyer, have your cash liquid, if you are taking a mortgage, make sure your down payment is ready to go and that you are approved for the financing so that a deal can be done as quickly as possible.

Being in the right financial position to get moving gives you a massive advantage when talking to sellers in this hot market. 

Work Out How You Are Going to Sign the Contract

Another way your deal can be delayed is when the deal can be ready, but we are waiting for a power of attorney to be signed, or you have to go to the embassy- which can drag on for weeks.

That is an example where people often lose deals because someone gets in ahead of them.

Position yourself correctly- be aware and work out conceptually how you are going to sign the contract from the beginning, not just once you find what you are looking for. 

Good Communication With Your Realtor

Your realtor has a lot of clients, is extremely busy, and has a huge demand for their services.

Make sure you are in touch regularly, be realistic with your demands, and show them that you are a serious buyer so that they send you all their top offerings. 

You Are Not the Only One Looking at the Apartment

This does not mean you should buy an apartment the moment you see it if you think it looks nice.

However, it does mean that you should not think that you are more clever than the rest of the market. Do not think that the seller will wait for you.

They will not as they are going to choose the best deal that they can for themselves as quickly as possible.

The vital lesson here is, and it's been proven on many occasions, not to think that the market is waiting for you. It is not, so be in the position where if you see something you like, you can start doing your due diligence.

Go to contract- do not sit there thinking about it for weeks. Of course, you are welcome to do that, but if you want to be able to buy that apartment, then you are going to have to move the process on.

Realize Perfection Does Not Exist

There is no perfect in this market. There is no perfect in any market.

If you have a long checklist of things the apartment must have and it checks 9/10 or 20/ 23 boxes, it might well be the apartment for you. It is really important to be realistic with what you are going to find.

If you are not realistic in this market, you are not going to buy. A crucial point to understand is that it is not about the budget. Whether you have 20 million dollars or 2 million dollars, the list will get bigger the higher the budget, but with such high demand and low supply, there is not much available for sale at any price point.

You need to be sensible and ready to ready to act. Try to find something that you are very happy with and that is realistic- do not look for perfection.

Do Your Due Diligence Properly

When buying an apartment, you must try and do your due diligence quickly and efficiently.

Make sure you are not buying something that has fundamental flaws without knowing, and be prepared to have an inspector come in as soon as possible. If you find an apartment you like, and you go to contract, you must do everything quickly.

If you say that you are going to bring in an inspector in three weeks, the deal will not wait for you. The moment you are at contract and your lawyer says you are ready, bring that engineer.

A crucial thing to point out is that it is not the role of the engineer to make you a list of 200 small things that need fixing. If you approach the seller trying to talk the price down for all the small things, you will not reach an agreement.

The role of the engineer is to make sure there are no fundamental flaws with the apartment you would like to purchase, and if there are, to either negotiate with the seller or keep looking for a different apartment.

The inspector is a vital part of the deal, and it is a good idea to get them to inspect the apartment as early as possible and not to wait until the day of signing to hear from the inspector.

Getting the inspection done will only help you, and it can either make you realize that you are buying a good apartment, or it will bring up issues that we can deal with as early as possible.

In conclusion, you must be well-positioned to buy.

Having intent is not enough- being prepared is crucial to finding a good deal. By following Ben’s tips, you will be ready to jump on incredible opportunities within this tough market.  

Contact CapitIL Real Estate Agency.

See available Jerusalem real estate here and new development projects here.